Friday, May 30, 2014

Yuriko Yoshitaka (25) and RADWIMPS guitarist/vocalist Yojiro Noda (28) are back together, and are seemingly in a semi-cohabiting situation.One day in the middle of May, past 8 at night, Yoshitaka was seen at a popular bistro in the city. She was with her best friend Kanna Mori (25) and actor Ryota Murai (25).The 3 went barhopping as Yoshitaka took charge of the group. Yoshitaka was scheduled for filming on the following morning, but showed no signs of ca;;ing it a night. Mori saw her off as she left the last store past 1 in the morning. She hopped into a cab and headed straight to an exclusive apartment, which actually wasn't her own home. After getting off, she proceeded to open the auto lock, looking like she's done it a number of times already, and disappeared into the building.4 hours later at around 5:30 in the morning, a car was seen entering the parking area. The driver of this car was Noda.Yoshitaka and Noda reportedly slept over for 3 straight nights according to a scoop published by Josei Seven in February last year. But in September, FRIDAY caught the couple yelling at each other and having a quarrel on the streets, which immediately led to breakup reports."The two of them generally do things at their own pace, and quarrels have been quite common. When Yoshitaka was cast as the morning drama heroine last autumn, she must have felt an immense amount of pressure and was always irritated, which made their fights more frequent and eventually led to their breakup" -(someone who knows Yoshitaka)But it looks like Yoshitaka and Noda have actually made amends. Not only that, Yoshitaka has a duplicate key to Noda's unit and waited for him there until he came home from work.Yoshitaka left Noda's apartment for work 3 hours later, at a little past 9 in the morning. She wore a red coat dress with thick-soled ankle boots, matched with a Vivienne Westwood tote bag -- different from her all-black rough get-up the night before."Hanako to Anne has been doing extremely well, which seems to have lifted a huge amount of pressure from Yoshitaka, giving her more inner peace. They seemed to have gotten back together around the middle of April and Yoshitaka spends as much time with him as she can, no matter how short it may be as she goes there at night after work and leaves from there the following morning. Yoshitaka seems to be the person who doesn't give up on her love even when she's engaged in a major project." - (same as above)

Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Japan Premiere of the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past was held on May 27 within the city as it was attended by Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman (45) and Ayame Gouriki (21), who voiced over the role played by Oscar winning actress Jennifer Lopez [sic] (44).Hugh arrived this day at Narita and flew to the venue via a chartered helicopter. He's going by an extremely tight schedule, as he was only scheduled for a 24-hour stay in Japan. Hugh raised his hand up high and greeted the crowd "Konnichiwa". He continued: "I'm happy to be here in Japan. Congratulations on winning the bid to host the Olympics in 2020. I'm Australian, and with the World Cup just around the corner, I'm hoping that Australia gets to face Samurai Japan at the finals of the World Cup.".It also seemed like he took a liking to Gouriki and said: "You can sing and dance too, right? Why don't we make the next one as 'X-MEN: The Musical'?". Gouriki was really pleased with that and said: "I am doing a lot of different things. Hollywood is one of my goals", to which Hugh replied "I'm sure Hollywood will be the one to come after you".

The reboot of GODZILLA took the # 1 spot at the box office on opening day in 7 countries. According to Toho, this was shown in 596 screens in France and earned USD 1.6M on opening day alone. This was also first in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Indonesia.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Most people would think "Are these guys a comical band?" upon hearing their name, but this 4-man band has constantly been the talk among in-the-know music fans as "a cool and fun band" that has been causing quite a name for themselves these days. The band just made their major label debut last month with their mini-album Minna Normal, as one of their songs "Parallel Spec" will be used for the commercial of the website Antenna.Vocalist/guitarist Enon Kawatani talked about the origin of their unique band name and said: "We just used the words written on the tote bag that ChanMARI (keyboards) brought as is. We were fine with any band name, but we got inspiration from that.". Even after they formed, they were only active during weekends as a casual band, but the people did not let them stay quiet for long.The music that Kawatani makes is mainly a fusion of progressive and hip-hop, and has a free-flowing and unique melody line. Even people in their 30s~40s would feel some nostalgia with their sound."It's nostalgic to the older generation, but fresh to the newer ones. Striking that balance must've been the key to the success."Their nationwide tour will begin in June, and their tickets have started selling at a premium.Though everything around them has made a sudden change, Kawatani comments: "I don't want to get surprised and just try to calmly analyze things. Our goal right now is to stand out in our musical sales. I think it would be fun if a band with this kind of name would get 1st."Gesu no kiwami otome (roughly translated as "Height of vulgarness Maiden") are made up of Enon Kawatani (25) on vocals and guitar, Kyuujitsu Kacho (27) on bass, chanMARI (26) on the keyboard, and Hona Ikoka (24) on the drums. The band formed in May of 2012 around Kawatani who was the vocalist of the band indigo la End. They released 2 indie albums in 2013 and made their major debut in April 2014.

Hikari Ohta of Bakusho Mondai expressed his disgust at the upcoming World Cup festivities on his radio show JUNK Bakusho Mondai Cowboy (TBS Radio).Ohta started it off by saying: "Uhmmm, so yeah, they had this event yesterday for the World Cup, right?", referring to the announcement of the 23 players going to Brazil to represent Japan.Ohta continued: "That one's turning up to be one heckuva noisemaker, right?" "I'm not interested in it all, though." "Seriously... I'm already feeling depressed at the thought of the World Cup".His partner Yuji Tanaka said: "I guess that's true with you Ohta-san. It starts in about a month from now", to which Ohta responded: "Ugh, just thinking about that disgusting fanfare and noise that comes with it...".Tanaka proceeded to explain that the World Cup will be held in Brazil, meaning that the games will be played in the morning so there won't be too much commotion at night, but Ohta comments: "Seriously, I'm getting the doldrums... Just the mood of it, like how everyone will go 'Ehhhh---!? You didn't watch the game!?' and 'Uwaaaa!!'." "Why should I sympathize with you on something like that! Even if I did watch the games, I wouldn't share my feelings with you!"

Friday, May 23, 2014

On May 21, SPYAIR vocalist IKE suddenly announced that he is leaving the group via Twitter. The group announced on their official website that IKE was suffering from vocal chord polyps and acute chorditis. They proceeded to explain his tweet, saying that "it was due to the gravity of his responsibilities as a vocalist, and that his condition was deteriorating". The band will announce further developments upon IKE's recovery.SPYAIR recently had to announce the postponement of their tour legs in Nagoya on May 6 and 7, Sapporo on the 10th, and Sendai on the 12th due to IKE's acute bronchitis. They pushed through with the Fukuoka leg of their tour, but IKE's throat condition deteriorated and upon medical tests, was diagnosed with vocal chord polyp and acute chorditis, stating that he needed time off to recover. This prompted them to cancel the remaining 2 dates on the 23rd and 25th in Tokyo, as well as the 4 dates that were postponed for their SPYAIR TOUR 2014 "Imagination".IKE tweeted "Ohayou" early in the morning on the 21st. Twenty minutes later, he continued: "I am tweeting from the bed in my hotel room in Hiroshima using my iPhone in my right hand. I did not talk this over with anyone, this is my own decision. Please hear me out, and please spread the word.". Immediately after, he tweeted "I'm quitting SPYAIR!".SPYAIR's drummer KENTA commented: "I'm a fool as I was not able to protect the members, the fans, and the staff. We won't let it end here. Sorry for worrying you guys! Let me just tell you that all members haven't given up just yet!". Guitarist UZ continued: "We won't give up no matter what".Show Ayanocozey (DJ OZMA) of Kishidan also commented about this on Twitter. "Ike-kun, no. We're band members. We shouldn't be deciding things on our own. Whether we progress or we halt, we have to accept it all. But I would like you to discuss matters first with the other members.".

Late night drama Kodoku no Gurume (TV Tokyo) will make its return this July after a year of "starvation".Kodoku no Gurume, a food documentary drama series, is about a personal import agent, Goro Inogashira (played by Yutaka Matsushige), who goes on an endless journey in search of good food. All shops and restaurants shown in the drama are actual restaurants as viewers have been flocking to those places that have been featured to have a taste of the food featured on the show.Matsushige will once again reprise his role of Goro as the "lone gourmet" and eat to his heart's content. Season 4 will focus on "returning to its roots". The staff will search for the restaurants and the food that they want Goro to eat, and this season will once again feature "yakiniku" which has appeared in every season to date. And not just the city, Goro goes on various business trips and will visit places such as Hakone. Matsushige comments: "They didn't find anything wrong with me during my general checkup so I'll be doing this again. With 36 episodes already, we've run out of restaurants and things to feature. We might have to reuse some of the scenes we did before. And when people turn 51, they don't eat as much as they used to. I might have to ask a stand-in to take my place during the dining scenes. If that's all fine with you, then please put on your pajamas and brush your teeth first before watching this drama.".

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Jin Akanishi (29) left his agency at the end of February and is currently working as a freelancer. He has had a few projects like providing songs for a Korean group, but he has practically had a lot of free time since going independent, and has reportedly been drinking with his friends until late at night and goes home to a hotel room, as his relationship with wife Meisa Kuroki (25) was seemingly on the rocks."Meisa-san still had a lot of job offers even after her maternity leave, but Akanishi-san hasn't been working, nor taking care of their baby, and just kept getting drunk day in and day out... Because of the husband acting like this, there was a time when she would let her parents back home in Okinawa take care of their baby when she would have to leave their home for an extended period of time for filming." - (Meisa's acquanintance)It won't be a surprise if the gap between a bum and a busy, in-demand working mom widens because of this, and they did seem to be heading towards that direction, but there were reports that Akanishi's stance has changed, probably because he witnessed how cold his wife can be. This was in late March, in a studio within the city where Meisa was filming her scenes."It was Meisa's shoot, but Akanishi-san was also in the studio for some reason. He was in Meisa's dressing room the whole time, taking care of the baby. He would hold the baby up high, wipe off her drool, and even feed her baby food using a spoon... He was totally an ikumen*. (laughs)" - (Showbiz staff) * (ikumen = man engaged in raising the child)"They also looked like they had a lot of fun conversations during breaks from the filming."The two were also spotted in mid-April at Minami Aoyama. "They must've been coming home from shopping, and Akanishi-san was carrying all the grocery and shopping bags. It seemed like he couldn't go against and face Meisa-san properly anymore..." - (witness)When Akanishi left the agency, he commented, "I want to be more active with my international career", but it appears that he doesn't even have a manager yet, and it can't be said that he's started off his new career on a fine note."Akanishi-san probably can't even have a proper living right now if he breaks up with Meisa. He must've come to the conclusion to be a 'house-husband' until his own career gets back on track." - (Meisa's acquaintance)

ASKA denies charges: "I obtained it from a gang member and thought that it was Annaca, not drugs."

There has been a new turn of events in the arrest of ASKA (of CHAGE & ASKA) and his female friend as ASKA has testified that he thought the substance was "Annaca".According to the police, ASKA and Kasumi Tochinai have been answering all questions and have been cooperating with their investigation, but have continuously denied all allegations.According to an investigator, ASKA has insisted that "he obtained it from a member of an organized gang and thought that it was Annaca, not drugs". Annaca, or "caffeine and sodium benzoate", is a medicine used as a stimulant to counter drowsiness and fatigue.It has also been discovered that ASKA and Tochinai got to know each other at a party that was organized by Tochinai's group company. ASKA frequently met with Tochinai during weekends, as the police are currently investigating the history of their drug use.* (ASKA was arrested on May 17 on charges of violating the Stimulants Control Law. ASKA has been denying the use of drugs, but lab results were positive. Stimulants and MDMA powdered substances, along with drug kits, were found in his home. All music, videos, and goods related to ASKA, as well as CHAGE and ASKA, have been pulled from the shelves, including all their digital content.)

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Johnny's actor Toma Ikuta and Maximum the Hormone drummer Nao were caught holding hands by FRIDAY, which has led to cheers and applause from Maximum the Hormone fans.

FRIDAY's May 30 issue published an article titled "Toma Ikuta had a drink with married drummer Nao of Maximum the Hormone and had a romantic night as they held each other's hand". After having food and drinks at a restaurant, the pair held each other's hand and went to a park one late night.

Nao is married and a mother of a one-year-old kid. It would be a huge problem if they actually have a serious relationship, but Ikuta has been known to be a passionate "Harapeko" (Hormone fan) and has been close friends with the band members for a while now. Nao herself laughed off the allegations and insisted that they're just friends.

Ikuta's fans might be having a hard time swallowing this report, but the other Harapekos are having a blast, as some Twitter comments say: "ROFLMAO! Nao-san, amazing!", "Can't hold in my laughter for big sis Nao's FRIDAY debut wwwwww", "Nao-san!!!! (LOL) Maybe I should buy my first ever issue of FRIDAY w".

The band's guitarist and Nao's younger brother Maximum the Ryo-kun commented on Twitter: "We've been causing a lot of commotion. Hormone is currently having an emergency meeting.".

Anne (28) and Masahiro Higashide (26), who portrayed a married couple in NHK's morning drama Gochisousan, had a "sleepover date", as reported by Josei Seven. According to the article, after the two had drinks and dinner at a bar within the metro, they spent the night over at Anne's place. The article also featured a comment made by a regular customer of the bar that goes: "(Higashide) is ready to get married anytime".The pair was seen shopping together during the New Year, but their respective agencies denied the relationship back then. This time, Anne's agency commented: "We're leaving private matters up to her", while Higashide's agency said: "We cannot give out any comments regarding his private life", as both sides did not deny the report.